Urchin's Fairytale
by Before the Sun Sets
Summary: Look inside to find out. Be nice when you review, this is my first shot at something like this. Rated to be very safe. Kinda fluffy. Disclaimer: I don't own anything remotely Disney.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** One day when I was sick, out of sheer boredom I watched an episode of the Little Mermaid TV series. There was a character named Urchin and I got an idea that's been bouncing madly around in my head ever since. Please be nice. This is my first try at something like this.

**Full Summary: **Urchin is captured by humans and meets someone sympathetic to his plight.

Let the Prologue begin!

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Urchin awoke slowly, swimming up from the dark pool of unconsciousness. He felt something solid underneath him, a new experience for the merboy.

He started to move, but heavy strands of something tough kept him from moving a muscle.

Urchin felt a cool hand on his dry forehead. A soft voice sang a gentle song, calm and soothing. Urchin felt his hold on consciousness slipping away, and fell back into darkness.

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Russa: Review, but be nice please! 


	2. Urchin and Sara meet

Russa: I hope you guys are feeling nice today, because I am already nervous about this... well, go on. Read! Read I say!

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Urchin awoke to find himself floating once more. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced about.

The merboy found around his neck a thick iron collar, the chain trailing down to the floor. His hands were fastened behind him with some sort of iron clamps. Urchin craned his neck and looked over his shoulder to see handcuffs around his hands.

A wave of panic overtook the captive merboy, and he swam wildly forwards. Urchin could feel the water rushing past him and thought he might actually get somewhere when his head ran into something hard and unforgiving.

_Bonk._ Urchin floated in a daze for a moment. He heard laughter coming from the surface, and swam towards it.

A girl was sitting on the top of a rock, which stretched all the way to the bottom of the tank. Urchin let his head break the surface of the water, watching the girl warily. She was laughing hysterically, rolling around on the little pinnacle of rock.

Urchin blew water and glared at her, "What are you laughing at?"

The girl instantly stopped laughing and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry. You just looked so funny when you ran into the wall." Urchin looked the girl up and down. She seemed about his age, which was around fourteen.

He gasped when it hit him: the girl had human legs! He spun quickly and dove to the bottom of the pool. Urchin stared up at the girl, who was leaning over the side calling, "What did I do?" When the merboy didn't respond, the human girl sat back on her heels, her mouth moving.

Urchin slowly floated upwards, trying to figure out what she was saying. Eventually he came close enough to hear, and gasped again.

It was the song from before! The merboy let his head break the water again and watched as she sang. Her voice was soft and clear.

When she finished, Urchin swam a little closer, "That song… did you…?" The girl clapped her hands joyfully, "You remember!" Urchin shook his head, "Only darkness, a cool hand, and that song. Were you the one singing it?"

The girl nodded silently. Urchin relaxed somewhat, "How did I get in here?"

The girl brought her strange pinkish knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, "Well, me and my father were walking along the beach when we found you washed up on shore. You were way beyond the tideline, and we figured you must have washed up in the storm a couple days ago. My father wrapped you in a fishing net, loaded you onto a truck, and brought you here. I told him you needed water, but he figured you'd be fine. We brought you to this warehouse, where they had this tank stored from when we rescued that wounded seal."

Urchin jangled his handcuffs, "Why am I tied up? And what's your name? Mine's Urchin."

The girl smiled, "My name is Sara. I told my father not to tie you, but he's convinced that you're the result of an experiment gone wrong and so you must be feral."

Urchin started to say something, but stopped when the door to the building opened.

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Russa: Review again, but please no flames! 


	3. Rebellion

Russa: Here's the next part.

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Urchin dove to the bottom of the tank and watched warily as a tall, tan, muscular man strode in. The man yelled up at Sara, "What are you doing up there? Get down here right now!"

Sara stood up and crossed her arms, "Why?" The man, who Urchin figured was her father, crossed his own arms and called back, "Because it might attack you! You-"

Sara interrupted him, "His name is Urchin." Her father snorted, "Oh, so now you've named it?" Sara vaulted over the edge of the tank, ignoring the ladder, and landed down on the ground easily.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at her father, "I didn't name **him**, he told me. Urchin's just like you or me, except with a fish tail. And is it really necessary for his hands to be cuffed like that?"

Her father sighed, knowing he couldn't reason with her like this. He handed over a small key, "You can change it to the front. But that's all!"

Sara snatched the key and clambered back up the ladder. She beckoned to Urchin, "Come on!" He instantly swam up and allowed her to unlock the handcuffs. The merboy turned and held out his wrists in anticipation, but Sara seemed unsure.

She glanced at her father, then grinned impudently and tossed the open cuffs at him. Her father snatched them out of the air and started climbing up, yelling angrily.

Sara waved her hand at Urchin, "Swim down to the bottom! He can't reach you there!" The merboy hesitated, reluctant to leave his new friend to face her father. Urchin quickly submerged and searched around. He soon found what he was looking for and headed back to the surface.

The merboy held out a hand to Sara, "Come with me." She glanced at him, surprised, "What?"

Urchin shot her a serious look, "Do you trust me?" Sara hesitated, then nodded, "Yes." She leapt into the water and locked her arms around his waist.

"Take a deep breath and hold it." Urchin instructed. He waited until she had, then flipped over and dove. He swam quickly for a hole he had found in the rock. The merboy towed Sara through a small tunnel and into a little air pocket inside the stone.

Sara released her hold on Urchin and swam to the ledge on the side. She clambered up, leaning on the wall. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably. Urchin reached a hand up, wondering if his friend was okay.

Sara suddenly burst out laughing, "That… was… AWESOME!" Urchin relaxed and laughed as well.

All of a sudden, the chain around his neck tightened and he was pulled backwards down the tunnel. He didn't even have time to call to Sara before he was forcibly dragged back to the surface outside.

Sara's father was holding the other end of the chain, a long pole with a hook on the end lying on the stone beside him. The man dragged his surprised captive up and out of the water, throwing him down onto the rock.

Urchin tried to get back into the water, but Sara's father stomped down on his tailfin, pinning him in place.

The merboy cried out in pain. Sara's father glared at him and growled, "If you've harmed a single hair on my Sara's head, I'll kill you! I'll keep you out of the water until you die! I'll-"

A voice came from the water, "Father!" The man spun to see Sara, seemingly okay if sopping wet, glaring at him. She cut the water easily and climbed up onto the rock. She knelt down next to Urchin, "Are you okay?" The merboy, frightened into silence, nodded wordlessly.

Sara whirled on her father, "How dare you! Get off of his tail, right now!" Her father lost it then, "You will not order me around, young lady! I am your father, and you will treat me with respect! I told you to only move the cuffs in front, not free it!"

Sara matched him in anger, "I told you already, his name is Urchin!" In the staring contest that followed, Urchin decided it was time for him to speak. He glanced up at Sara's father from his position on the ground.

"Sir," he said politely, "Would you please get off my tail?" The man was struck dumb with surprise. He stumbled backwards off the merboy's tail.

Urchin flipped it experimentally, then squirmed in a very undignified manner to the edge of the rock. He slipped off into the water.

Sara smiled triumphantly at her father, "See? He's just as intelligent as me or you." Her father shook his head, "I never thought…"

Sara stomped her foot, "Exactly! You never thought! We have no right to keep Urchin locked up like this. Free him!"

Her father shook off his confusion, "No. This discovery could earn us millions of dollars! We could be rich, no longer living in a tiny little cottage in this tiny little town!"

Sara looked shocked, "You'd condemn a sentient being to a life behind bars so that we could be rich?" Her father just shrugged and turned away. He climbed down the ladder and left the building.

Sara knelt on the rock, "I'm sorry, Urchin. I'll set you free, I promise!" The merboy nodded, the chain around his neck clanking, "I know you will."

Sara's soft brown eyes met his bright blue ones, and something clicked into place. She quickly got up and hurried away.

Urchin stared after her, trying to figure out what had just happened. His messy blonde hair fell in his eyes, breaking his trancelike state.

Urchin dove down into the depths to think.


	4. Freedom

Russa: ...

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Urchin floated up to the surface when he spotted Sara climbing up the ladder. She clutched a big, heavy key in her hand.

She called, "I stole it from my father's safe. He doesn't know I know the combination!" When Urchin's head came above the water, Sara was already waiting on the rock.

The merboy swam easily over and sat on the ledge. The heavy iron chain clanked as he settled. Sara fingered the collar until she found the keyhole. She inserted the key and gave it a twist.

The heavy chain fell away, drifting down to the bottom of the pool. Urchin turned to Sara, "Now what?" Sara grinned, "I have a plan."

She went over to the ladder and pulled up the end of a very long tube, "It leads to a little portable tank at the bottom. It's already filled with seawater, and I can wheel it down to the beach."

Urchin nodded and Sara put the end of the tube in the water. It sucked in water slowly, and Urchin allowed himself to be pulled in. He swam along with the water into a small, dark space.

There were metal walls all around, but plenty of room was left for Urchin to settle on the bottom. He faintly heard Sara's voice, "Are you okay in there, Urchin?" "I'm fine." he answered.

The merboy braced himself against the walls as the compartment began to move. It made a rattling sound as it rolled. Soon, the rattling was joined by a high-speed, high powered drumming.

After what seemed like hours of endless noise, the lid of the tank was lifted off. Urchin peeked out into the torrential rain to find that the beach started just a few feet away.

Suddenly, two arms went under him and lifted him up carefully. Urchin whirled his head around to find that the arms belonged to Sara. She headed cautiously down the beach.

The girl made her way out onto a little outcropping of rock. Sara set Urchin down on the slick stone. He grabbed one of her hands and held on.

Their eyes met, and Urchin called over the pounding rain, "Wait for me here. I will come back and visit, I promise."

Sara nodded, tears mingling with the rainwater on her cheeks. Urchin released her hand and allowed the waves to carry him away.


	5. Happily Ever After kinda

Russa: This is the last chapter. Enjoy.

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Sara stood out on the little rock outcropping that she now called Urchin's Rock.

It had been twenty years to the day since that stormy evening, and Urchin still hadn't returned. The woman gazed out over the sea for another moment, then turned to go home. She didn't really expect to see him, not anymore.

As she headed down the path to her lonely little home, something impelled her to turn and look back. Sara saw a muscular man with messy blonde hair sitting on the rock.

She slowly walked towards him, unable to speak. He sensed her presence and whirled around.

"Sara?" he asked in a deep voice. Sara couldn't believe it, but there was no mistaking those blue eyes and that mischievous smile, "Urchin!"

She flung herself into his arms, knocking them both off the rock and into the sea. They surfaced with Sara's arms linked around Urchin's neck. The merman kept them both afloat with easy strokes of his fish tail.

Sara buried her face in his chest, "I missed you." He held her tenderly, "I missed you too." The woman raised her head, "Why didn't you come back?"

Urchin's eyes saddened, "A war. With the sharks. I was drafted into the army by the first merpeople who saw me. I couldn't come back until now because of the war."

Sara gazed into his sky-blue eyes, "You know, all that time alone gave me time to think, and I know something now." Urchin nodded, "Me, too."

Both waited for the other to speak, then said simultaneously, "I love you." They stared at each other for a moment, then laughed.

Sara pulled herself up until her face was only an inch from Urchin's. He chuckled, "We were made for each other. We both know what comes next."

Sara giggled and kissed him. He hesitated, then returned her kiss with a passion. When they broke apart, tears were running down Sara's cheeks.

Urchin frowned, "What's wrong?" She broke down and cried on his shoulder. "I'm a human, and you're a merman. We can never be together." Urchin smiled, "Yes, we can. Would you like to become a mermaid?"

Sara nodded, "Anything if we can be together." Urchin touched her cheek tenderly, "Then look down."

Sure enough, Sara's legs had become a fish tail to match Urchin's. She looked questioningly at her beloved, who smiled widely, "My payment for serving in the army was one magic spell. That was it."

Sara threw up her hands in mock exasperation, "Well, why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

Urchin tugged playfully on her now-long bark brown hair, "Race you to King Triton's palace!" They both turned and dove underwater, disappearing from sight.

From the shore, an old man watched his only daughter vanish into the waves. He wept in knowing that he had betrayed her by letting his own selfishness take over her happiness.

Sara's father turned away from the beach, headed back to his lonely old cottage.


End file.
